Ranma and Lunar: Eternal Ranma
by Gray
Summary: A Ranma and Lunar crossover. Ranma agrees to aid a desperate Althena save her world of Lunar from an old evil...Please R+R . Added Chapter 3.
1. "Ranma on the Moon"

Disclaimer: I don't own this stuff, the respective creators do

Disclaimer: I don't own this stuff, the respective creators do.

Ranma ½ and Lunar Eternal Ranma Part 1: "Ranma on the Moon" By Gray 

Ranma Saotome muttered angrily to himself as he walked down the street towards the Tendo Dojo with his report card seemingly smirking at him in his hand.

"Can't believe I got a friggin "B" in P.E of all things! That's the one subject I excel in! I should have a perfect grade!" For most students, getting a B in P.E was no big deal. They tended to concentrate more on subjects like Math or History, or some other academic class. However, for Ranma, who didn't really care all that much for those subjects, and tended to sleep through most of them, getting a B in the one class he had always gotten A's in, irked him to no end, especially since now he had nothing above a B on his report card.

"Ah man, I just know I'll never hear the end of it from Akane and Nabiki!" He wished he could just drop school altogether, but he knew that his Mother and Kasumi would be very disappointed in him, and that was something he did not want. If he could at least graduate, he was sure they would be satisfied, but considering his grades, it looked pretty grim. Heaving a tired sigh of one sick of the way things were going, Ranma decided to avoid the Dojo for a little bit, and maybe prolong the inevitable.

Sitting by the canal and watching the sun slowly set in the horizon Ranma smiled faintly at the quiet beauty of it all. He may have been insensitive at times, but he could still appreciate the simpler things in life easily enough. Growing up on the road would do that to you. Finally he got up and walked over to where he had placed his school bag. He was just about to pick it up when a bright flash of light erupted in front of him. Blinking slowly, Ranma's eyes widened at what he saw. Standing where the light had appeared, was a beautiful blue-haired woman dressed in robes, and staring at him with a sorrowful expression on her pleasant face.

"You…you are the slayer of Saffron?" Ranma blinked again at the odd question, but nodded his head in the affirmative. The woman smiled faintly.

"Ranma Saotome…You are a powerful young man, powerful enough to defeat a God…" He was very puzzled by what was going on, but new enough about his life that these types of things could happen, and that this was not a dream or anything.

"I am the Goddess Althena, and I implore you, please, will you agree to aid in the battle to save a world?" Ranma gaped.

"A Goddess? What the hell is going on here?" She closed her eyes.

"Please, I need your help to save the world of Lunar… I would be willing to cure you of your curse if you accept…" Ranma was getting more puzzled by the second but the mention of a cure sent his heart racing.

"Lunar? What's that?" He wondered. He could see the sadness in her blue eyes and the unshed tears. This was the clincher for him.

"I…I'll help in any way I can…" She smiled gratefully.

"Thank you… You have no idea how many lives you just saved…" Before he could ask what she meant, Ranma felt himself slipping into unconsciousness, and found himself hoping that he wouldn't be gone too long. He did have school in week after all…

Somewhere else, a deep laughter echoed.

"So Althena thinks to stop my resurrection by enlisting the aid of a mere human? How foolish she is!" A being more evil and malignant than any other resided in the darkness, biding its time until its revival came about. This being's name was Zophar…

Ranma groaned in frustration as he tried yet again to cast the spell. The Squall spell was the most basic wind spell possible, and he couldn't even make a breeze. His best friend and fellow wannabe adventurer Hiro stood to the side offering helpful advice with the supposed baby Red Dragon Ruby perched on his shoulder. Finally Ranma gave up for the day and sat down. Hiro walked over and sat beside him.

"I'm sorry Ranma, I'm sure you'll get it eventually." Ranma sighed and kicked a rock by his feet.

"Yeah, yeah, even though you've known it for a whole year now… I just wish I could cast one lame spell! Even some little weak one would be better than nothing!" Hiro sweated and weakly nodded his head, he then smiled slightly.

"Hey! At least you can beat me in a physical fight! Right?" Ranma glumly nodded, feeling a little bit better.

"Yeah, I guess…although your Poe Sword attack packs a punch…" Hiro smirked slightly.

"And let's not forget my boomerang…" He said as he held the object in question up. Ranma matched his smirk.

"Don't get too cocky pal!" Hiro stood up.

"Is that a challenge?" Ranma followed suit.

"You bet it is! Let's go!" The two youths charged at each other while Ruby hovered nearby, sweating slightly and shaking her head.

"Don't those two ever run out of energy?" She saw that the sun was beginning to set and called out to them after several minutes of watching them "spar" with each other.

"Hey you two! We gotta get back to Grandpa Gwyn's! It's almost dinnertime!" The two nodded at each other, signifying that it was time to end it. Ranma and Hiro both leapt up and executed their separate mid-air techniques.

"Poe Sword!" Hiro yelled as he leapt up with the wooden sword he used to fight Ranma with poised above his head, ready for a downward chopping motion. Ranma had his own technique ready however.

"Shooting Star Kick!" He cried, angling a powerful jump kick at his friend. The attack normally required the user to ricochet off of something, but Ranma didn't really want to use that much power on Hiro, and so he did without. The two met in mid-air, and Ruby watched as the two attacks struck each other. Ranma's kick however shattered Hiro's wooden sword, although it stopped Ranma's attack. They landed and Hiro sighed.

"Great, not another one! Do you know how hard it is to carve on of those!" Ranma held up his hands in a warding motion.

"Sorry sorry! I'll make you a new one! I promise!" Hiro nodded his head.

"Alright. I guess you won that round…" Ranma nodded in return and thumbed Gwyn's house in the distance.

"Shall we head back?" Hiro had already started walking.

"Let's go." 

As they walked, Ranma smiled slightly at the setting sun in the golden hued sky. He turned to Hiro.

"Y'know, I really do appreciate you and your Grandpa taking me in…" Hiro waved it off.

"I know, you've told us a million times. And we've told you a million times that we're glad we did." Ranma sighed.

"I just wish I could remember more than just my name and fighting skills…" Hiro nodded.

"Yeah… well I'm sure you'll regain your memories someday…" Ranma nodded.

"You're right, still…I don't even think I've remembered all of my fighting techniques yet…it just seems like I'm missing them or something…" Hiro groaned and looked at Ranma with an annoyed expression on his face.

"You mean you're even stronger!? Ah geez!" Ranma smirked slightly.

"Don't worry Hiro, I'll still go easy on you." Hiro grumbled but didn't reply as the two had reached their little home. Ruby had flown ahead and was waiting for them with Gwyn by the door.

"Now where have you two boys been! It's almost time for supper!" Hiro and Ranma nodded sheepishly and went inside. Up above them, the Blue Star shined softly, with promises of things to come.

Author's Notes: Another new story…But I couldn't help it! Anyway, please give me some feedback and tell me if I should continue this! Also let me know if I should have had Ranma actually replace Hiro, or kept it as is. Also who should Ranma wind up with? I'm thinking either Lucia, or Jean. Lucia being my first choice because she's my favorite Lunar girl, and Jean because she has similar skills to Ranma, although I don't want to spoil it for people who haven't played the game. If you haven't then go and do it! Lunar, and Lunar 2 are both excellent games, and you owe it to yourself to play them. Although the first one is pretty hard to find now… Anyway, please give me feedback! Thank you!

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	2. "Mysterious Girl"

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma or Lunar

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma or Lunar.

Ranma ½ and Lunar Eternal Ranma Part 2: "Mysterious Girl" By Gray 

In a desolate snow covered wasteland, a large spire stands as the only sign of life anywhere. As the wind howls and a raging blizzard continues to blow across the landscape, a shimmering crystal in the heart of the structure glows brightly for a moment, and a nude woman steps through the crystal and onto the ground. The only article of clothing she wears is a small pendant in a circular shape with a golden lining and a golden circle in its center. The girl has bright blue hair and a serious expression on her face. She calmly walks through the halls of the spire, not bothered in the least by her lack of clothing. Finally reaching the outside, she glances around in puzzlement.

"This is not the time for my awakening…" She mutters to herself. She continues to stare blankly out across the snow-covered horizon, before raising her head and staring up at the shining planet in the sky.

"Lunar…no…" She whispers faintly. The blizzard picks up, continuing its relentless existence.

A figure is desperately trying to chip away a shiny stone from a statue using an old sword.

"Man, I should have brought Grandpa's chisel! This is way harder than I thought!" Hiro mutters to himself as he continues to try and free the lovely blue gem from its imprisonment in the dragon statue's eye socket. He glances over at his companion, Ranma, who is staring with a blank look on his face at nothing in particular.

"Something wrong Ranma?" Hiro asks curiously, pausing for a moment to give his tired arm a rest. His friend starts and whips his head over to him.

"Huh? Didja say something Hiro?" Shaking his head, Hiro resumes his work.

"Nah, nevermind…" He notes that his flying companion since youth, Ruby, is hovering impatiently with a lantern dangling from her mouth.

"Hurry it up Hiro! I'd like to get the dragon's eye while we're still young! Not to mention before the trap activates…" She added almost as an afterthought. Hiro stares at her wide-eyed, and Ranma blinks.

"Trap…" Ranma says slowly.

"What trap!" Hiro yells. Suddenly flames erupt around the statue and very nearly toast Hiro and Ranma, who are both hanging upside down by ropes. Hiro glares at Ruby slightly.

"Why didn't you tell me that earlier?" He asks in an annoyed voice. Ruby glares right back.

"I did! But you two morons were too busy trying to get the jewel to listen!" Hiro ignores the moron comment and quickly turns back to the jewel.

"Oh yeah! I almost got it!" Hiro yells excitedly. Ranma dangles impatiently with his arms crossed and his pigtail hanging upside down beside him. Finally with one last mighty stab, the jewel is freed from its prison, and Hiro quickly grabs for it, only to miss and gasp in alarm, but before he can blink a hand shoots out and snatches the jewel before it can fall. Breathing out a sigh of relief, Hiro turns to his friend, who holds the jewel in his hand, curiously examining it.

"Thanks Ranma…" Hiro says to the pig-tailed one. Nodding at his companion, Ranma smirks and slides the jewel into his pocket. 

"I'll hold onto our catch, if ya don't mind…" Hiro nods back, knowing that Ranma would take good care of their hard-won treasure. He then noticed his talking cat gesturing wildly to the rope holding him.

"What is it Ruby?" He asks curiously. Finally having gotten his attention, Ruby screams in his face.

"The rope's breaking!" Hiro has about a second worth of time to register her statement before he finds himself plummeting to the ground as gravity takes effect. 

"AHHHH!!!" Hiro yells as he sees his life flash before his eyes. Seeing his friend hurtling towards a very painful landing, Ranma quickly slips out of his own support line, and leaps to his friend's aid. Angling his body to increase his speed, Ranma nosedives towards the plummeting form of his fellow adventurer, with Ruby following closely. Unfortunately he is unable to reach him in time and Ranma barely manages to flip onto his feet and land lightly on the ground. Hiro hits with a loud smack and lays still. Ruby flutters over to him, crying softly.

"Oh Hiro…Please don't die, you just can't die…" Ranma gently checks Hiro's pulse, and finds that he is still alive at least. Hiro stirs and smiles weakly at the two.

"Heh, damn, that hurts, sure wish I could of landed like you Ranma…" He mutters. Ruby happily flutters in front of his face.

"Oh Hiro! I'm so glad you're okay!" She then grows stern.

"That's it! No more adventuring for us! I can't take it anymore!" She scolds in an angry tone as Hiro rubs his head sheepishly. Ranma tenses slightly.

"Shhh! Be quiet you two! I hear something!" They all look towards the doorway, and suddenly two flame ghouls burst out. Sweating slightly, the trio of friends back away. And seeing the two powerful monsters follow them, turn and run, screaming.

They run down a passage, only to find two more monsters waiting for them. Ranma quickly grabs the gaping Hiro and ducks down another hallway with Ruby in tow. They continue running, chased by the flame ghouls.

"Hello, my name is Ranma, and these two are my best friends in the world, Hiro and Ruby. We've been friends ever since they found me unconscious and with no recollection of who I was or why I was there."

The trio dash down yet another hallway and narrowly avoid getting crushed by a rolling steel ball. They then leap over a pit and take a turn down yet another hall, thinking they've lost the Inferno Ghouls, only to find a cadre of the things waiting for them around the next corner. Screaming again like little girls, they turn around and sprint along another corridor.

"Even though our Grandfather Gywn would probably rupture a blood vessel if he saw us in this kind of danger, we still explore any ruins we can find. For Hiro it's to learn more about the world, for me, it's to maybe find out who I am and what purpose I'm here for. That's the one thing that has remained in my head ever since waking up. That I have a purpose. A mission I suppose. I just wish I knew what it was. But until then, I suppose I'll just keep treasure hunting with Hiro, and hopefully keeping him and Ruby out of as much trouble as possible. Of course, I wonder who's going to keep me out of trouble? At least I have my martial arts. That's the other thing I retained in my memory, my fighting skills. It seems I was quite the warrior in my old life. Grandpa thinks I might have been a disciple of Blue Master Lunn, but he isn't sure. I just know that I can kill monsters with my bare hands with relative ease. And that I couldn't cast a squall spell if my life depended on it…"

The three friends narrowly dodge another steel ball, and quickly run from the still pursuing inferno ghouls.

"I know that someday I'll remember who I am, but until then, I am content to live my life alongside my friends. For without them, I would truly be lost…"

The trio madly search for the exit and suddenly hear a great rumbling, turning, they see a massive steel ball hurtling towards them. Once more screaming at the top of their lungs, they dash forward and finally see the exit. They manage to roll out into the light of day just in time. Getting to his feet, Hiro laughs at the boulder as the adrenalin high begins to wear off.

"Ha ha ha! Mighty adventurer and all around handsome guy Hiro escapes a squishy death yet again! All in the name of exploration!" Ruby prepares to fricassee him, and after getting a nod from Ranma, proceeds to do so. A now much more crispy Hiro coughs and then turns to his two companions.

"Thanks I needed that…" Ranma nods again and turns to go.

"C'mon you two, we still gotta hike through the East Desert Pass, remember?" He says as he starts to walk. Hiro and Ruby quickly catch up with the pig-tailed martial artist and the three walk in companionable silence. Hiro glances over at Ranma and gains a slightly worried expression on his normally fairly cheerful face.

"I wonder what's wrong with him. He's normally a lot more…carefree I guess…" Deciding that his friend is just having a bad day, Hiro decides to leave him alone for a while. Besides, he still had the bruises from the last time he had tried to cheer Ranma up. He supposed getting Ruby to flame him and then giving him a mirror was not the brightest idea he ever had, but he should have seen how funny he looked! Besides, it was either that or show him some of Grandpa's naughty bromides…

After fighting past a few monsters that inhabited the desert, the trio paused on a cliff as they heard a loud rumbling. They watched in awe as a massive, gleaming white ship with a dragon's head at the front of it smashed through some rocks like they were pebbles and came to a stop in front of them. A figure stood on the bow of the ship and yelled to them in a deep booming voice.

"You there! What are you doing in this area?" The figure was a man with blue hair and a horn on his forehead, and was dressed in white armor with a red cape. He was obviously a beast man, and Ranma at least could tell that he was an extremely powerful fighter. Hiro spoke up while Ranma chose to remain silent and continue to study the man and gauge his fighting power.

"I am Hiro, and these are my friends Ranma and Ruby! Who are you?" He shouted to the man. The man nodded and stood straight.

"I am White Knight Leo! Leader of Althena's Guard! This is the Dragonship Destiny! Now then, I want you kids to leave this area immediately! I don't want any civilians getting hurt! Now move it!" Ranma was a bit annoyed by the arrogance of this guy, but before he could put his foot in his mouth and voice it, Leo had signaled to the driver and the Destiny moved on. Ruby finally spoke up.

"Geez, that guy sure was rude!" Ranma and Hiro almost snickered at that. Imagine Ruby calling someone else rude! Composing themselves, the two turned to go.

"Let's keep moving, we should be almost at the end of the pass by now." Hiro said as he ran along the cliff. Ranma and Hiro dispatched a few more monsters with ease ahead of them, and the three finally left the pass.

Arriving back at the house, the trio was startled when they saw the Destiny parked right outside their home. They quickly rushed into the house and saw Leo talking to Gwyn with two guards flanking the doorway. The two guards were both barely older than Ranma and Hiro, yet acted like they were hot stuff. You could just see it in their expressions. Ranma inwardly smirked. He knew that he could probably beat up half the guards on the Destiny with little trouble, and if Hiro helped, well, let's just say that the Goddess would have one hell of a medical bill to pay. He then glanced at Leo. The beastman looked like a challenge however. Ranma could tell just by looking at him, especially since now he could see him more clearly, that Leo was a formidable fighter. He then noticed that the White Knight was yelling at Gwyn in an annoyed voice.

"Very well old man! If you cannot supply me with the information I seek on how to enter the Blue Spire, so that I may crush the Destroyer, then I shall simply blow right through its doors with the dragon cannon!" A faint memory of a boy tickled Ranma's brain. He was dressed in blue and had a pompous attitude. The sound of thunder seemed to coincide with the image. Leo reminded him of this boy. With a shake of his head, Ranma noticed that Leo was leaving. Ranma got out of his way, and grew slightly uncomfortable, as the White Knight seemed to be assessing him.

"Hmmm, you look to be a strong lad. Have you thought about joining Althena's Guard boy?" The beastman asked. Ranma blinked slowly.

"Umm, well, not really…" He said in an unsure tone. Leo seemed to ignore this.

"Well, I suggest you think of it, we can always use more able young men, and so can the Goddess. Protecting her is the duty of all inhabitants of our planet." The White Knight said in an almost reverent voice. Ranma nodded to appease Leo, and it seemed to work. Leo then turned and strode out of the house with his two guards following. Ranma blew out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding and turned to see that Hiro was talking with Gwyn.

"Hmmf, what a pompous fool that Leo is!" Gwyn said, to which all three nodded in agreement. The old man then turned and headed for a ladder in the back.

"I think I'm going to take a look at the spire." He said as he disappeared up the ladder. Ranma, Hiro, and Ruby were suddenly startled as they head Gwyn shouting.

"All of you! Come up here quick!" They raced up the ladder, well, Hiro did, Ruby flew up it, and Ranma jumped past it. Standing on the platform at the top of the house with the telescope, they saw a most peculiar sight. There seemed to be some sort of light coming from the tip of the spire. All four people stared in confusion at the odd sight. Up until then, the Blue Spire had always been a solemn, sealed structure of mystery. It had stood in place silently for as long as anyone could remember. Gwyn turned to them excitedly.

"This is the chance of a lifetime! Who knows what we'll find if we go now!" Hiro and Ranma blink several times at their loveable, yet slightly smelly, Grandfather.

"You're actually letting us come with you Gramps?" Ranma asked in an incredulous tone to which Hiro nodded in equal awe. Gwyn smiled and hobbled over to the ladder.

"You betcha! Get your gear together and meet me by the door!" He then climbed down the ladder, making several squeaks and groans on his way down as the rickety thing protested the weight. Ranma and Hiro glanced at each other, and then to the equally puzzled Ruby, who shrugged her tiny shoulders. Deciding to simply go with the flow and not look a gift horse in the mouth, they slid down the ladder, which once again creaked, and made their way downstairs to the makeshift supply storage/library. Hiro snagged an old iron shield that had several dents in it and banged on it a few times to check its resilience. Deciding that it was better than nothing, he slid it onto his arm. Ranma gathered a few medicinal herbs and placed them gingerly in a pouch at his waist, and also grabbed a small dagger just in case. He preferred to rely on his fists of course, but every once in a while; it was better to use a weapon on some monsters. Besides, better safe than sorry he figured. Finally after double-checking their gear, the boys went back upstairs and met the old man by the entrance to their home. After meticulously inspecting their equipment for any missing necessities, the old man nodded in satisfaction and turned to go.

"Let's be off boys, I want to get there before that buffoon Leo does…" The two friends and their flying baby dragon followed, though Ranma had an odd feeling about this little excursion. Almost like this was the beginning of the end…but the end of what? Shaking his head to dispel these peculiar thoughts, he jogged to catch up to the others.

After a pretty uneventful hike, the three found themselves at the tower. Ranma felt a slight bit of trepidation when he saw the four fearsome statues surrounding the entrance, but didn't let it show. He was just glad that they were simple statues… He noticed that Gwyn had placed a pink gem into one of the sockets of the dragon statue at the entrance. The statue looked pretty familiar actually…it seemed however that the entrance wasn't going to budge. Gwyn seemed puzzled. Hiro however snapped his fingers and dug inside his belt pouch, and sweated slightly as he didn't find what he was looking for. 

"Oh no! I must have dropped it! Or left it behind! Or maybe…" Ranma held up a blue gem in his hand.

"Lookin' for this Hiro?" Nodding frantically, Hiro snatched it and placed it gingerly into the other socket of the head. With a resounding creak, the statue slid apart, opening the way inside. Slapping a fist into his palm, Gwyn smiled widely.

"Of course! The mechanism would require two dragon's eyes!" Ranma was tempted to say no duh, but decided against it, as Grandpa could get pretty nasty with that cane of his when he wanted to. (Not that cane you pervs!) Gwyn reminded him a lot of an old woman who also had a cane as well as an old man who wore…panties? But their names, as well as who they were, escaped him. The quartet of explorers gingerly walked into the Blue Spire, and began to um, explore. It was unanimously decided that Ranma would be at the point as he was the overall best fighter of the group. While Gwyn brought up the rear because of his curative abilities. The monsters on the first floor were dispatched easily enough, and after a somewhat monotonous task of pressing several switches on the second floor, the four found themselves halfway up the Spire. After passing by another Guardian statue that made Ranma shiver slightly for some reason, they came to a peaceful halfway point of sorts. Ranma and the others were in awe of the beauty of the place. Not only was the second portion of the Spire nice to look at, but also the view from up above was great. There was also an intricate fountain with a statue of Althena as the centerpiece. For some reason he couldn't fathom, Ranma had always been extra wary around water. It was almost a reflex of his to avoid cold water. It struck him as odd. Then there was the twinge of fear he got when he first saw Ruby. Thankfully it passed and he eventually got over it. Although when he saw a regular cat, well, he got scared, really scared. He suddenly blinked as he saw Ruby waving a paw in his face.

"Hello! Lunar to Ranma! You there!" She yelled in his face.

"Gah!" He jumped back several feet, and almost splashed into the fountain.

"Ack!" He cried as he managed to reverse his momentum and land beside it instead. Ruby sweated slightly but didn't comment on his antics.

"Hiro and Grandpa Gwyn have already gone ahead Ranma! Let's get moving already!" She yelled as she zipped past him and towards the others. Shaking his head, Ranma ran towards the others.

The second leg of the climb up the Spire was a bit more tedious as the monsters were stronger. Thankfully Gwyn was on hand with timely healing spells, and they successfully made it to the top, passing by a beautiful view of the outside. Once they reached the top, they split up at Gywn's suggestion and looked around for a possible way up higher. The three friends walked around the large room, searching for anything suspicious. Ranma felt a peculiar feeling come over him, one that led him to a beautiful floating image of Lunar. Hiro and Ruby wander up next to him to have a look as well. 

"Man, that's sure is neat." Hiro says admiringly as he scratches his head. Hesitantly, Ranma reaches out to it. Ruby grows slightly afraid.

"Wait! Don't touch it!" But she is too late, as Ranma has already done so, and a great light swallows the three.

In the blink of an eye they were deposited into a blue tinted room with a green light casting an almost eerie shadow about the small area. Ranma got up and dusted himself off and took a step forward. He saw a great crystal spinning in midair in front of him, and slowly walked towards it. Hiro and Ruby had no choice but to follow him. The crystal was the thing causing the green light hue of the room, and Ranma noted that it was very beautiful to look at. Suddenly, the crystal started to glow brighter, and Ranma could swear he saw a girl inside of it. She reached forward with a hand, passing right through the surface of the shimmering chamber, and seemed to float through it. Then, while still floating in mid-air, she slowly levitated to the ground. Ranma, Hiro, and Ruby all goggled at her, and when she turned their way, they all let out an involuntary gasp. For Ranma however, he gasped not in fear, but in awe. The girl, he realized, was breathtakingly beautiful. She had a long mane of hair that went down to about her waist, and was a lovely shade of sky blue. Although she was cloaked in a red robe that hid her body from view, Ranma could tell she had an exquisite figure. Last but definitely not least, she had a lovely face, and beautiful jade green eyes that reminded him of…someone. Someone with an apron, and brown hair… Shaking his head at that errant thought, Ranma continued to study the oddly dressed girl in front of him. What he didn't realize was that she was also studying him. The two stared at each other for several more minutes, before Ruby had to speak up.

"Excuse me! Can you two stop checking each other out already!" Hiro nodded absently in agreement. Truth be told, he had been staring at the girl just as, if not more intently than Ranma. Finally the mysterious woman began to speak.

"I am Lucia of the Blue Star. I must speak with Althena, please, take me to her…" Ranma blinked, loudly, twice.

"Althena!?" You mean the Goddess?" Lucia tilted her head slightly in confusion.

"Is there some other Althena I am unaware of?" She asked without a hint of mockery in her voice. Ranma shook his head, Hiro was still drooling. Ranma looked over at him and shook his head again. Hiro seemed to snap out of his daze and smiled widely at Lucia.

"Don't worry miss! I'll personally escort you to the Goddess!" Lucia blinked.

"Oh? Are you a warrior of the Goddess?" Ranma and Ruby struggled to hold in their laughter, and failed miserably. Hiro sweatdropped at his giggling "friend's" antics, and Lucia became further confused.

"Why are they laughing? Was it something I said?" She asked in honest puzzlement. Hiro just bowed his head wearily and shook it no. 

In a bright flash of light similar to the one they just experienced, the trio of friends and their mysterious accomplice reappeared back in the chamber where they left Grandpa Gwyn. Said old man jumped back in surprise as he saw his young charges appear in front of his eyes in the company of a beautiful young woman. 

"And here I thought those two would be losers for years to come…" He thought to himself as he gave the blue-haired girl the once-over. He then realized that they were all staring at him with odd looks on their faces, and he quickly composed himself, pretending to have been in deep thought.

"Ah, good to see you're all back! And who is this?" He asked while looking at Lucia. Hiro sheepishly introduced her and Gwyn nodded his head.

"Hmm, from the Blue Star you say? That is interesting. Very interesting indeed…" He trailed off as a thought came to him.

"Wait a minute. I seem to remember Leo mentioning that a great destroyer would be coming from the Spire today…could this girl be it? She seems harmless enough…" The old explorer thought to himself as he regarded the girl some more. Finally he turned around and started for the exit.

"Well, I suppose we should be going now…there doesn't seem to be much else to find here. Let's head home." He said. The three others and the baby dragon followed behind the old man and they made their way back onto the balcony with the lovely view from before. Lucia had wandered ahead of the others and marched with an almost soldierly gait that even Ranma was hard pressed to match. Ranma's eyes suddenly widened and he dived towards Lucia. Turning, she gasped as the young man tackled her and rolled to the side, keeping her safe from the impact. She was about to question exactly why he just did that when her eyes provided the answer. Floating where she had been standing a moment ago were several Crystal Knights. They were powerful monsters, and were quite dangerous. Ranma gently placed Lucia on the ground, feeling a sense of protectiveness come over him, and got to his feet. His face was serious and he let his body sink into a defensive stance. He was just about to attack, when a whisper of "Plasma Rain!" rang out from behind him. A shower of deadly mystic shards rained down on the monsters, who barely had time to cry out in agony before they were completely vaporized by the devastating magical energy. Shocked, Ranma turned to see that Lucia had her arm raised and had the residual hum of energy surrounding her that signified that a spell had just been cast by her hand. Needless to say, it took a while for Ranma and the others to pick their jaws up off the floor. Lucia ignored their shocked glances and continued to the exit. As they made their way back down, Lucia dispatched any and all enemies with ease, not even giving Ranma or Hiro a chance to get into a combat stance. Not only that, but she threw around spells that even Gwyn has never even heard of, like they were nothing. It was a little unnerving, to say the least. It also made Ranma groan a bit.

"Damn it, bad enough that Hiro is talented in magic, but this girl, Lucia makes him look like me in comparison…" Finally they reached the mid-way point with the fountain. Lucia stared up at the sky in curiosity.

"Is this truly the world that Althena created?" She mumbled as she continued to stare up at the bright blue sky. Ranma smiled slightly for some reason as he watched her. Suddenly, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as he felt…something. Something horrible…

"What is it…?" He wondered as his eyes darted around wildly. He absently noted that the others had noticed as well, and Lucia had an angry expression on her face. A deep booming laughter that sent chills down their spines echoed everywhere at once.

"Zophar…" Lucia whispered, as she grew visibly tense. 

"Well, Lucia, Princess of the Blue Star…Let me be the first to welcome you to the world of Lunar…I can assure you that your stay here will be most…gratifying." Lucia grit her teeth and her eyes hardened.

"Zophar, I will not allow you to corrupt this world!" The laughter came again, even louder than before.

"I'm afraid you don't have much choice little girl!" The malignant voice taunted. Lucia held up a hand, which began to glow softly with power.

"I will stop you Zophar! Althena's Light Shine Forth!" She cried as the glow grew brighter and soon enveloped her entire body with mystical power. Hiro gaped at the sight.

"Whoa…" He said in an awe-filled voice, to which Ranma, Gwyn, and Ruby nodded in mutual agreement. A flash of light suddenly appeared, and Lucia gasped in pain, before collapsing to her knees in pain.

"Hah! I think not Lucia! Your pitiful powers won't stop me, especially with the dragons unable to aid you now!" Lucia was breathing hard, and sweat had gathered on her brow.

"Won't…won't let you…Zophar…" She whispered. The laughter picked up again, and Ranma was rapidly losing his control. He wished with all his being that he could silence that infuriating laugh! Not to mention help Lucia. The chills running through him would not stop however. He realized that he was in the presence of true evil. Whoever this Zophar was, Ranma knew that he would be trouble. He then saw Lucia collapse to her knees and he quickly dashed over to her. Cradling her limp form in his arms while crouched, Ranma heard the demonic voice again.

"Hmm, what have we here? You have a peculiar feel about you boy…" Ranma could swear the voice held some surprise when next it spoke.

"You have the taint of Althena upon you!? But how can that be? Althena is…" The voice trailed off and then began laughing again, louder then ever.

"Bah, it matters not. This is of no consequence to me…As for you Lucia dear…Enjoy being powerless to stop me as I mold this world to my liking…and good luck finding Althena…Ha ha ha!" The voice laughed once more before Ranma felt the dark presence leave and the area become peaceful again. Lucia was mumbling to herself in pain. Her pretty face was twisted in agony Ranma noticed.

"Uhh…Zophar, must stop…Zophar…My powers…wouldn't work…Dragons wouldn't respond…Why…?" She moaned as she grimaced in pain. Ranma and the others just looked on helplessly as she began to show signs of a fever. Ranma wordlessly handed her lightly trembling body to Hiro, who took her without a word, and turned to the others. Gwyn tried a few healing spells, all in vain, and resolutely the group marched on, determined to get Lucia out of the tower. Something was going on here, Ranma knew, that was far beyond he and his little "family's" scope of understanding, but he was determined to help in any way he could. If Lucia wanted to see Althena, well then he would damn well search under every pebble on Lunar until he found the Goddess for her. Something inside him just insisted that he help her. Like he had a mission of some sort. Could it relate to his forgotten life? Shaking his head, Ranma resolved to think more on the matter later, but for now, he had work to do. He had given Lucia to Hiro mainly because he needed his arms free for fighting. Out of the two of them, it was better that he be able to fight at his full power than Hiro. The group entered the lower portion of the Spire again, and Ranma just barely avoided getting crushed to a paste as a large iron ball impacted where he had been standing moments ago. Landing in a crouched defensive stance beside the others, he watched as the formerly stone Guardian hefted its ball and chain from the floor where it had been stuck, and regarded the companions before it with a furious gaze.

"Damn! It must have felt the evil of that being from earlier and activated itself to defend against any threats or intruders!" Gwyn yelled as Ranma watched the behemoth carefully.

"Ya mean like us Gramps?" Ranma asked. Gwyn nodded and readied himself to provide any healing aid. Hiro shifted the weakly watching Lucia around a bit and saw his friend prepare to do battle with the Guardian. Ruby fluttered about in fear. Ranma narrowed his eyes and watched the thing's wrist warily. There! He leaped aside just as it struck out with the ball again. He smirked slightly. Although inhumanly quick for its size, he could still predict when it was going to strike by watching its wrist and hand movements. But how to beat it… Yet another near strike, and he suddenly got an idea. As the thing prepared to retract its ball again, Ranma leapt onto the massive iron weight and ran up the chain connecting it to the thing's hand. Before it could blink, the Guardian received dozens of punishing blows to the head, followed by a ridiculously powerful sidekick that drove it into the wall behind it. Nimbly, Ranma leapt off its hand and landed in front of it. As it was getting its bearings back, Ranma decided to end it now. Concentrating slightly, he leapt backwards and felt his feet touch the wall. Tensing his muscles and coiling downwards like a spring, he then ricocheted off of the wall and brought his right foot to bear.

"Shooting Star Kick!" Ranma's foot glowed blazed with ki energy, and as it slammed into the Guardian's already bruised head, the golem was smashed backwards once more, this time having its head buried into the wall completely, its arms were limp and it appeared dead. Breathing out as relief filled him, Ranma turned to his companions, who regarded him in wonder. Ruby picked up her jaw slowly.

"Ranma…how on earth did you beat a Guardian? That was amazing!" Ranma waved off the praise.

"Add to my ego later Ruby, we gotta get moving. Lucia ain't looking so good…" After noting that Lucia did indeed look even worse than before, the others nodded and followed as Ranma proceeded to tear his way out of the Spire. Upon reaching the outside finally, the group was barred exit by four more Guardians. The hulking beasts growled and lifted their ball and chains menacingly. Knowing it was almost futile, but unwilling to just lie over and die, Ranma got into a stance; ready to protect the others with his own body. He managed to dodge the first two attacks, butanother Guardian smashed its weapon into his side, cracking his ribs, and sending him sliding along the dirt, only to stop in a sprawled position, barely moving. Ruby screamed and Hiro backed up a bit while holding Lucia protectively to his chest. Gwyn prepared to defend them with his cane, even if it would do no good. Ranma slowly got to his feet, and winced slightly as he felt his ribs. 

"Definitely going to need a healing spell from Gramps for that one…" He muttered as he prepared to attack the Guardians again before they could make his friends into smears on the ground. But just as he was about to attack, a subtle humming sound was heard, before a massive, blazing blast of light erupted forth and obliterated the beasts completely, leaving not even a speck of them behind. Gaping in awe, Ranma and the others saw the might Dragonship Destiny nearby, its cannons still emitting smoke from the huge shot they had just fired. White Knight Leo stood proudly on the bow, gazing at the five people in front of him with a critical eye.

"Hmm, you are all quite lucky that I came when I did, for you most surely would have been killed were it not for the Destiny's mighty Dragon Cannon…" He paused and looked at the blue-haired woman cradled protectively in Hiro's arms.

"Hmm, and who might that be? Is she hurt, or perhaps ill?" Hiro sweated as he realized that Lucia could very well be the "destroyer" that Leo had spoken of earlier. Of course he didn't believe for a moment that such a beautiful girl could be some evil, world-destroying monster, but he somehow doubted Leo would be quite so inclined to agree. So Hiro did the only thing he could do, he lied through his teeth, as well as diverted attention elsewhere.

"Um, well, actually, she was attacked! Yeah, by a terrible beast at the top of the Spire! It was a fearsome, bloodthirsty, vicious, evil, um…thing…and it almost got us too!" Hiro sweated as he noted that all the soldiers standing by Leo were looking at him with yeah-right expressions on their faces. Leo however, who was deep in thought suddenly exclaimed loudly.

"Ah! I see! That must be the Destroyer! I must slay this horrid creature for the good of all Lunar, and the Goddess! Come men! Let us go off to battle for the future of our planet!" He then drew his sword with a flourish, and leapt off of the bow. With sweat drops on the back of their heads, the members of Althena's Guard jumped off as well and followed their brave, if slightly odd leader into the Spire. Ranma, Hiro, Gwyn, and Ruby were still trying to wrap their minds around the concept that Leo had bought Hiro's ridiculous story.

"Um, good going Hiro…Guess we should be going now huh?" Ranma said hesitantly. The others just nodded and together, they left for home. Ranma held his cracked ribs tenderly as they headed to the south; his face showed that he was in deep thought. During the battle against the four Guardians, he had felt…something. An attack of some sort appeared in his mind, having something to do with a spiral…and a difference of temperatures. It was odd to say the least.

"Could it be something I knew before my memory loss?" He wondered briefly. He noticed that Lucia was moaning a bit in obvious pain, and became worried. Her condition kept getting worse, and Ranma could feel that if something were not done soon, then she would be lost. The very thought repulsed him, and so he tried to concentrate on something else. He glanced up at the Blue Star in the sky and continued to watch it as he walked. It shone brightly, tantalizing him with promises of things to come…

Author's Notes: Okay, sorry it took so long to update, but I hope the added length makes up for it. Please note that even though Ranma feels something for Lucia, I still have not decided if they will get together or not. Although they might…Ok, Ranma was complaining about his grades being bad because he feared his Mother's disappointment of him, and as for being afraid of being teased for them, well, I don't think it's that out of character for sat Akane or Nabiki to give him a hard time about his lack of academic ability, and just because he teases, doesn't mean likes being teased. No one does, even when they do it. Although Ranma's taunts are more of a defense than anything else. He reacts usually, not the other way around. As for why Althena appears to Ranma in the first part when she is gone in Lunar 2, well, that will be explained later, let's just say that it's a plot point. I chose to use Lunar 2 instead of Lunar 1 mainly because I think Lunar 2 is a little more epic and I like the setting better. Although I feel that the two games are about equal in terms of enjoyment. Ranma will remember all of his attacks eventually, and even come up with some new ones. He will also be getting memories back eventually as well. Ok, guess that's all, c'ya later…

** **


	3. "The Journey Begins"

Disclaimer: Well, considering that technically I don't own this stuff, I suppose I need a disclaimer here huh

Disclaimer: Well, considering that technically I don't own this stuff, I suppose I need a disclaimer here huh? Well…ok. I don't own Lunar or Ranma, their respectively wealthy true owners do. 

Ranma ½ and Lunar 

**Eternal Ranma**

** **

**Part 3: "The Journey Begins"**

** **

By Gray 

** **

Upon reaching the house, Ranma quickly set Lucia down while Hiro looked on anxiously. Gwyn went downstairs to try and find something to help, while Ruby fluttered about and made a nuisance of herself. Lucia moaned in pain, and Ranma grimaced as he pulled his hand away from her very warm forehead.

"She's got a nasty fever…" He muttered, to which Hiro gulped loudly and Ruby paused in her flying to hover beside him. Ranma pulled some healing herbs from his pouch and handed them to Hiro.

"Here, grind these up into tea so we can feed them to her without her having to chew…" He said in a serious voice. Hiro nodded and quickly set about doing just that, while Ruby heated some water with her flame breath. Ranma monitored Lucia's vital signs while he waited, and gratefully took a wet rag from Ruby to dab her forehead with. Hiro returned wit the prepared potion and Ranma made Lucia sip it gently. It didn't do much good, but it did seem to lessen her pain slightly. The fever also went down a bit. Lucia stirred and weakly tried to stand up. Unfortunately, this was not such a good idea, and she stumbled, thankfully being caught by Ranma, who set her back down gently.

"I'm sorry Lucia, but you're not well enough to be walking around right now…" He said with mild reproach in his voice. She didn't seem to hear him and mumbled weakly.

"I…must stop Zophar…If he is allowed to regain control of the power he once held…" She paused for a moment, gasping in pain, before continuing.

"Then…this world…will be destroyed…" She whispered. Ranma and Hiro blinked at that, and Ruby let out a squeak of fear. Ranma's face then turned steely.

"Lucia, I promise you that I won't let that happen, but until then you need to rest and get better…" He said. Lucia blinked in confusion.

"But, you are only a human, how could you possibly stop Zophar?" She asked, clearly puzzled. Ranma could sense she wasn't insulting him, just asking an honest question, and to be frank, he wondered what could he do against a being so powerful, but he ignored that.

"I don't know, but I gave you my word, and I intend to keep it…" He said solemnly. 

"That's good my boy, because you'll be leaving shortly anyway." Gwyn said as he hobbled up the stairs from the library. 

"What do you mean by that Grandpa?" Hiro asked curiously. Gwyn smiled and went over to Lucia, holding a hand over her forehead and chanting a few words quietly. A glow surfaced and it seemed to ease her pain slightly.

"As I thought, I am not strong enough, or skilled enough, to fully rid her of the curse…" He then turned to Hiro and Ranma.

"There is a priest in Larpa, by the name of Ronfar. His Father and I were good friends, and he even taught me a few healing spells…I think he may be able to cure her of this affliction…" Ranma grinned at Gwyn's words.

"Then what are we waiting for Gramps! Let's go to Larpa!" He raised his fist into the air in a sign of inspiration, which fell flat when Ruby spoke.

"And how exactly are we going to get there Ranma? Fly? Maybe I can, but you sure as heck can't!" She said in a condescending tone. Ranma bowed his head in defeat, while Hiro patted his back encouragingly with a sweat-drop on his head. Gwyn coughed into his hand and cleared his throat.

"I have a solution to that." He said before walking outside. Ranma and Hiro looked at each other, to which the tattoo-faced boy shrugged while the pig-tailed one blinked in confusion. They followed their Grandfather outside, while Ruby watched Lucia. Once outside, they watched as Gwyn pulled a tarp away, which revealed a fairly small, but still nicely made sail boat. Gwyn had a proud smile on his face as he pointed at the boat.

"Behold boys! My pride and joy, the Explorer! Why, this is the ship I used to travel the world in during my youth!" He said with a note of nostalgia in his voice. Ranma and Hiro just looked at him oddly.

"I thought his pride and joy was his bromide collection!" Ranma whispered to Hiro, who nodded in agreement. He had thought that too actually. Gwyn was too busy admiring his rusty old boat to pay attention to their comments. Finally finished with his trip down memory lane, Gwyn indicated the boat with his cane.

"You boys can get to Larpa by using this baby! Then you can find Ronfar and have him cure our lovely friend!" He said with a smile on his wizened face. Ranma's own face grew solemn, and he nodded in understanding.

"Right, then let's get moving!" 

After loading some supplies, and dragging the boat down to the shore, Ranma, Hiro, and Ruby, as well as Lucia, who was placed in the small cabin to rest, waved goodbye to Gwyn as they shoved off into the crystal blue waters of Lunar. Ranma hoisted the sails, and soon they were on their way. As they sailed, the sun began to set, and while Hiro and Ruby caught fish on one side of the boat, Ranma sat on the other, watching the sky change from peaceful blue, to golden orange. Despite all the dangerous situations they had found themselves in, it really had been a beautiful day weather-wise. And it looked like it would be an equally lovely night too. Lucia was still resting in the cabin, and Ranma smiled softly to himself as he thought of her.

"She certainly is different…" He thought as he remembered when Hiro had offered her some fish, and she had asked what it was. To which Ruby had acted like the poor girl had committed blasphemy, before taking said fish and gulping it down quickly. Needless to say, Lucia had been rather puzzled at the whole thing, while Ranma had simply shook his head. Ranma chuckled as he remembered the look on Hiro's face when Ruby took the fish he had spent over half-an hour trying to catch for Lucia, and ate it in under half-a second. It was obvious to him that Hiro had fallen for Lucia…hard. Although he couldn't fault his friend for it, the girl was pretty, beautiful actually, and her charming naiveté was sort of cute. 

"She's so mysterious…" He thought with a frown. She was from the Blue Star, but how was that possible? The blue star was supposed to be a barren wasteland, devoid of life. So how could a young girl possibly survive there? Though it did explain why she was so clueless. He blinked as a thought occurred to him. Maybe Lucia was the Destroyer Leo spoke of. He shook his head furiously at that.

"Idiot! Then who was that bastard Zophar? The Goddess?" He asked himself sarcastically. His thoughts then turned to himself. He was still no closer to finding out just who on earth he was or where he came from.

"Come to think of it, I'm sort of similar to Lucia. People don't know where I came from either, or what to make of me. He remembered when he was found, how he had odd items on him. Several little coins with holes in them that could have possibly been currency, though it was nothing like the silver that people used everywhere now. He had also had a crumpled up package of some sort in his pocket that said " Tama's octopus puffs" on it. Whatever the heck that was. He bowed his head in thought. At least Lucia had her memories, and her purpose.

"What is my purpose?" He questioned silently. 

"Why am I without my memories? Why am I able to use fighting techniques I don't even remember learning?" He wished that someone knew what he was going through. But who out there possibly could? He blinked in confusion as he saw that it was now pretty late. The sun had sunk fully into the sky, and the stars shined brightly.

"How long have I been out here?" He wondered to himself as he stood up and winced as his joints protested being in the same position for so long. He noted that Hiro and Ruby had gone to bed in the cabin, and since there was little else to do, he decided to do the same. The interior of the cabin had two sets of bunk beds, and he grimaced as he saw that Hiro had taken the top bunk on the one they were to share. Shrugging, he shucked off his shirt and pants, and clad in his nightclothes, crawled into the bottom bunk for some hopefully peaceful sleep.

Ranma sighed as he listened half-heartedly to his Pop ranting about the true path of a martial artist. He was tempted to shut his Father up forcefully, but didn't bother as he saw that at last they had arrived at their destination. 

"This is Jusenkyo boy! Here you and I will train to become even stronger!" He then started heading down the path leading to the cursed springs. Ranma blinked in confusion for a moment before following. Upon reaching the springs, they ignored the guide's spotty Japanese, and leapt up onto the poles for some balance training/combat sparring. This was cut short however when Ranma, who had surpassed his Father in terms of sheer skill a while ago, smashed past the old man's guard, and sent him hurtling towards a spring. He was the one caught off guard however when a panda came hurtling out of the afore-mentioned spring and smacked him into another one. Upon rising to the surface, he was startled to find that he had grown breasts! Shaking in fear, his eyes widened further when he heard what the guide was saying.

"…girl who drown in spring 1500 year ago! Now whoever fall in spring take body of young girl!" 

"Ahhh!" Ranma bolted upright in bed, and groaned as his eyes adjusted to the dark, and he realized it had all been a dream. Even now, most of it escaped him, but he did remember certain details. He recalled a fat man with a bandanna and glasses who somehow caused revulsion in him, and he remembered falling in a spring, and becoming a… girl!? 

"What in the hell is wrong with me? That's impossible!" He muttered as he wiped some sweat from his brow. But could that dream be a glimpse into his past? He certainly hoped not, but then again, it seemed so real… and familiar.

"Maybe…maybe I should get some fresh air…" He thought to himself. With a nod, he got out of bed, and after slipping his pants on; he wandered outside, listening to the calming sounds of the sea. He blinked in confusion as he saw a figure sitting by the edge of the boat. He saw the long hair and immediately realized who it was.

"Lucia…" He whispered. She started and turned around quickly, her green eyes widening briefly before settling upon seeing who it was. 

"You move very silently…" She said in greeting. Ranma rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, unsure of how to respond. He stepped forward, and noted by the position of the moon that it was pretty late.

"Lucia, you really should be resting…" He said in a concerned tone. She nodded without looking at him, still gazing out at the horizon.

"Yes, I know, Zophar's magic is strong, and I am feeling quite weak…but…" She trailed off.

"But what?" Ranma asked curiously. She sighed and turned to him.

"But I still want to keep observing this world." She said at last as they saw some fish swim by and a bird go soaring above them in the night sky. She cocked her head to the side as she noted his appearance.

"You do not look well yourself Ranma. Is something troubling you?" She asked in her usual blunt manner that actually resembled himself, though she spoke in a much more refined way, and he suspected it was not so much a lack of tact like himself, as it was a complete lack of knowledge as to what tact was in the first place. After registering her question for several moments, he finally responded.

"I'm alright, I just had a strange dream…" He said at last, to which she grew a puzzled look on her face. 

"A strange dream? I don't understand. Perhaps you should elaborate." She said as she continued to scrutinize him, much to his discomfort.

"Well, I dreamt about a place, and a person I've never seen before, and yet somehow I know I have…" He said, before realizing how stupid that sounded. She seemed to take a moment to mull over his answer, before finally saying something.

"Perhaps your dream is trying to tell you something." He blinked at her answer, and thought it over.

"I…suppose that could be it…" He said after a moment's thought. Nodding her head, Lucia changed the subject.

"Hiro has told me that you have no memory beyond a year or so ago…I am curious Ranma, what is that like?" She asked him, while he became slightly saddened.

"It's…difficult to explain, but I guess, it's like grasping for something that feels so close, and yet it's just out of reach. I have brief flashes of memories, and occasionally someone I meet will remind me of someone else I've never met before…it's hard…" She nodded, and he was surprised to see a note of understanding and…concern, in her normally unreadable face.

"I see…it sounds very unpleasant…" She trailed off, and looked up at the sky.

"I hope…that you recover your memories soon Ranma…" She said at last. He stared at her for a moment more, before a smile slowly broke across his face.

"Th-thank you Lucia…it…means a lot to hear you say that." She turned to him again, saw his face, and hurriedly looked away, but not before he saw an unusual color to her cheeks. He quickly grew concerned again.

"Geez Lucia! Your fever must be getting worse again! We've got to get you into bed before it gets worse!" He said as he stood and moved to help her up. She looked at his hand, puzzled for a moment, both at her reaction to his smile, and his gesture, before she nodded and grasped it. He quickly pulled her up, but with as much gentleness as possible, and led her back into the cabin. And for a brief moment, the Blue Star seemed to shine brighter in the night sky.

Finally, when the morning light began to shine down on the land of Lunar, the little boat reached the shore of Larpa coast, and after tying it down and making sure to lock up the cabin, as well as fold up the sails, the three adventurers, and the cursed girl they were escorting made their way towards the desert town of Larpa in earnest. The town was seedy to be sure, and even the mayor himself was a reputed thug, but it didn't stop the fact that it thrived thanks to an abundance of sandshark, which made for excellent and very popular meat, as well as the very famous Salyan cactus, which was delicious when pickled. The place was also a trading outpost of sorts, and the cool, crisp morning air gave it a certain healthy glow as it blew through the streets. Upon arriving in town, the friends immediately began asking around for a priest named Ronfar. The responses they got were varied, but were of two main types. Either:

"Ronfar? You mean that lazy, no-good, thieving scoundrel!" Or:

"Ronfar? You mean that suave, handsome, manly hunk!" Naturally the latter responses all came from women, well, except for one, which caused Ranma, Hiro, and Ruby to raise their eyebrows, and Lucia to blink in confusion. Finally, they decided to take a breather, and headed for the bar, though with Lucia still feeling weak, Ranma let her lean on Hiro for support, which caused a jealous outburst from Ruby, and a stuttered half-denial, half-acquiesce from Hiro. Ranma scanned the bar for a moment, before noticing that pretty much everyone was giving odd glances to a strangely dressed man sitting in the corner. The man was slightly scruffy looking, had a bandanna wrapped around his head, and was absently twirling some dice around in his hands, and tossing them up in the air, only to catch them with practiced ease. He had a lazy look to him, like one who just didn't care all that much about much of anything, but Ranma could also see a certain sadness lurking in his eyes, a past pain that still lingered deeply. Ranma casually walked over to where the guy sat, and waited to be noticed. The man finally looked up from his drink after several seconds, and blinked at Ranma for several more, before a wide grin broke across his face.

"Well…hi there friend! You look like a smart and lucky guy! Can I interest you in a friendly little game?" He asked with a big emphasis on friendly. Ranma glanced down at the dice the man was holding, and then at all the people in the bar shaking their heads wildly while staring at him. He then turned back to the man.

"Er, no, that's okay. I think I'll pass." He said at last. The man slumped slightly, but then adopted the same attitude the minute Hiro and Ruby walked up, with Lucia in tow. Just as Hiro was about to accept the gambler's offer, Ranma quickly interceded.

"Look pal, we're looking for a guy named Ronfar. Have you seen him?" The man smirked slightly at Ranma's words. 

"Oh, yeah, I've seen Ronfar, he's one cool guy! But anyway, whadda ya need from him?" He asked while casually reaching into his pocket and pulling out a weed, which he then placed in his mouth and began to chew on absentmindedly. Ranma suddenly noticed that Lucia was swaying on her feet, and turned just in time to watch Hiro catch her before she collapsed on the cold bar floor. The weed-chewing gambler sat up suddenly, knocking his seat over as he saw the girl faint, and quickly moved over to her. 

"What's wrong with her?" He asked while glancing at Ranma.

"She's suffering from a very powerful curse, and we need a skilled priest to cure her. We heard that this Ronfar guy was that kind of priest." Ranma said while gazing at Lucia with concern. The gambler chuckled despite himself.

"Well, I got news for you pal, Ronfar isn't a priest, at least, not anymore…" With that said, he took Lucia from Hiro's arms, and headed for the exit.

"Follow me boys, and um cat thing. Let's head for my place and we can discuss things in more detail." He then turned and exited the bar, leaving Ruby to stew in indignation at being called a "cat thing" and Ranma and Hiro to blink in confusion, before hurrying after the man. Several minutes later, the bartender realized the gambler hadn't paid his rather large tab. A string of obscene curses soon followed.

The gambler led the trio of friends to a fairly nice looking house that sat on a small cliff overlooking Larpa. Once they stepped inside however, the niceness ceased. To say that the place was a mess would be a gross understatement. It looked like a war had been waged within its walls, and the weaponry used were empty bottles and various other unidentified substances and items. 

"You guys are lucky, I remembered to tidy up this morning before I went out." The man said after placing Lucia on the only bed in the house. Ranma, Hiro, and Ruby all grew massive sweatdrops at this little bit of information.

"This is tidy!?" Was the common thought running through all of their heads. 

"Sure hope that bed is at least clean, or the curse will be the least of our worries…" Hiro muttered as Ranma and Ruby nodded in agreement. The gambler paid them no heed, instead going outside for a moment and returning with a letter held in his hands.

"Hmm, so he'll be coming by today huh? Guess that's alright…" He mumbled to himself before gesturing to the floor of his home.

"Have a seat guys, and we can talk" He said as he leaned up against the wall. Ranma sweated and waved his hands.

"Oh no! That's alright! We'll stand!" He then did just that, with Hiro and Ruby following suit. The bandanna-clad man shrugged his shoulders and shifted his weed to the other side of his mouth.

"So, tell me why you think this "Ronfar" can help you." He said. Hiro spoke up.

"My Grandfather told us that Ronfar was a great priest. He said that Ronfar could cure anything!" Hiro noticed that the man's face fell at his words, and grew curious.

"What's wrong?" He asked. The gambler waved it off.

"Nothing, but your Grandpa was wrong. Ronfar isn't a great priest. In fact, he isn't a priest at all, at least not anymore. Not after he failed to cure the most important person in his life…" He said as he bowed his head in sadness. Ranma stepped forward.

"You're Ronfar, aren't you…" He said calmly, to which the man nodded.

"Yes, my name is Ronfar…" He then turned away.

"But I can't help you…" Hiro was about to say something but Ronfar cut him off.

"I said I can't help you. I'm no longer a priest…" He said as they all heard a knocking at the door. A familiar voice came from the other side.

"Ronfar! Ronfar old friend! Open up! It's me, Leo! Open the door!" Ranma, Hiro, and Ruby all let out one massive gasp of fear, and looked around frantically while Ronfar raised a curious eyebrow at them. Ranma grimaced as he saw the gambler prepare to open the door.

"Damn! I don't know if I can beat Leo!" He thought as he saw Ruby and Hiro quickly rush into the other room. Deciding, for once, that discretion was the better part of valor, he joined them a second later. One moment afterwards, Leo came inside of Casa de Ronfar, while Ronfar shut the door after him.

"Hello Leo, what brings the esteemed White Knight of Althena to this wretched hive of scum and villainy?" Leo chuckled at his friend's words and glanced around the place.

"Please Ronfar, don't compliment yourself!" He said with a smirk, to which Ronfar returned. Leo then grew a more serious expression.

"I've come here old friend, to ask once more that you please at least consider rejoining Althena's Chosen. You were one of, if not our finest priest and healer. Your skills would be greatly appreciated…" He trailed off as Ronfar held up a hand.

"I see, then you will not even consider?" Ronfar simply shook his head in the negative, causing Leo to grow a slightly curious expression on his face.

"Is it about Mauri?" He asked calmly. Ronfar grew a furious expression on his face, before sighing sadly and turning away from the White Knight.

"Leo…I failed her…I couldn't even…do anything…" His thoughts turned to a time years ago, when Leo's sister, and the girl he loved more than life itself, lay sick with a horrible illness, the likes of which no one had ever seen before. And for all his power, despite the fact that he was the star priest of Althena's Chosen at the time, he could not do a thing. Ronfar cursed to himself angrily as he felt the familiar ache in his heart, and the tears threaten to spill past his eyelids as he remembered her anguished cries and moans of pain as the damnable curse attacked her defenseless body with frightening efficiency. He then remembered how she had been "cured." and felt a knife long buried in his soul twist painfully. 

"That's why I left Leo, because I couldn't stand to watch as she…" He didn't finish and they both let out weary breaths, before Leo's eyes hardened.

"I see, I suppose I can understand your feelings, but I urge you to at least think it over once more. I came to you today with one other purpose in mind old friend, and that is to ask if you know anything about a certain young man with a green tattoo upon his face named Hiro, another boy with a pig-tail named Ranma, a little flying pink creature with a smart mouth named Ruby, and a blue-haired girl dressed oddly who is named Lucia. The girl is actually the legendary destroyer foretold by the Goddess, and it has taken the guise of a human female oddly enough." He said as he gripped the hilt of his sword tightly in remembered anger of how they had tricked him so easily. Ronfar's eyes widened briefly, but Leo did not notice. He then adopted a casual attitude.

"Well old buddy, I could say I've seen something…" Leo grew an anxious expression on his face, while Ranma, Hiro, and Ruby grew fearful ones.

"But then I'd be lying! So no, I'm afraid I haven't seen anyone like that around." Ronfar said as he crossed his fingers behind his back. Leo nodded grimly and moved to leave.

"I see, well then, I suppose I should be off. If you do hear anything, I'll be staying the night at the shrine in town. Good day Ronfar, and please think about my offer…" With that said, he left, and Ronfar breathed out a sigh of relief, which was echoed by his "guests" in the other room. 

"You guys can come out now!" Ronfar called as he took a bottle out of a cabinet and took a swig. The bitter taste of the contents easing his mind slightly.

"You know, I just outright lied to one of the few friends I have left in this world, and for a bunch of complete strangers no less…" He then turned to them with serious expression in his eyes.

"But I have feeling about you guys, a hunch that you're in the right…and that's why I'm going to give you a chance to obtain my help. All it takes is a roll of the ol' dice. Call it Ranma!" He yelled as he tossed the dice. Ranma quickly cried out the first one that came to him.

"Odd!" When the dice stopped rolling at last, they came out odd! Letting out a grin, Ranma ignored the happily smiling Hiro, and Ruby, and looked on as Ronfar smirked and collected the dice.

"Well there ya go. It looks like I'll be helping you out, cause the dice never lie baby! We'll set out for the temple of Althena right away!" With that said, Ronfar moved over to the wall in back of his house, and slid a cabinet out of the way, revealing a small passageway behind it. He smirked.

"Heh, cool huh? Well, go and collect Lucia and we'll be off!" He then entered the passage. Ranma quickly went into the other room, and came out with a weakly moaning Lucia. The curse seemed to be getting worse with each passing second. He handed her to Hiro to carry, and together, they all followed the gambler through the passage.

The passageway behind Ronfar's home was obviously rarely used, and as such, it had a few monsters calling the area home. Thankfully, Ronfar turned out to be a fairly decent fighter as he wielded an old mace with practiced, if slightly rusty, ease. The monsters were weak, and were quickly dispatched, though Hiro was forced to employ his boomerang when one got past Ranma and Ronfar. He managed to whack the offending bat creature over the head with the wooden weapon, before Ruby finished it off with a quick flame burst. Soon enough, they had made their way through and stood on a small ledge overlooking the temple of Althena's Chosen. A quick visual check and Ranma deduced that the approximate height they were at was at least two stories. He smirked slightly at that, no problem for someone like him. Without a word, he leapt down and landed lightly on his feet making nary a sound. Ronfar shrugged and followed suit, though he landed somewhat more clumsily. Ranma cursed as he realized that Hiro wouldn't be able to make the jump very well while carrying Lucia, so he simply leapt back up to where his friend still stood, making Ronfar, Hiro, and Ruby gape, before scooping up Lucia and leaping back down again, this time gently so as not to jostle her. After Hiro leapt down with Ruby in tow, Ranma handed her back to him, and together the five of them cautiously entered through the back entrance of the temple.

To say the inside of Althena's Temple was elaborate would be a gross understatement. The walls were of the finest stone, and beautiful tapestries and paintings hung on the walls. The four individuals plus their cursed charge entered the main room of the temple quietly, and found themselves in front of the large imposing statue of Althena. For some reason, Ranma thought the statue looked odd. It wasn't just because it didn't look very much like the older one that stood outside of Gwyn's home, or the fact that there was large, very prominent donation box sitting in front of it, the statue just looked wrong to him, but then, he had never seen the Goddess right? So it must have been his imagination. Ronfar approaches the statue with a sigh, and gazes up at it with an odd look in his eyes, before turning back to the others.

"Guess there's no time like the present huh? Okay then, lay her down in front of the statue, yeah, like that, okay, stand back…" He said, and after Hiro finished placing Lucia down in front of the stone representation of the Goddess, Ronfar placed his hands over her and concentrated, closing his eyes, and willing the power he had not used in years to free her of the curse.

"Come on, please work…" He thought to himself as light gathered in his hands and was channeled into the inert body of the blue-haired girl beneath him. Finally, he slumped as the large amount of healing energy he was generating combined with the fact that he hadn't used any healing magic in years finally took its tool on him. The friends all looked on anxiously, hoping for some sort of reaction, but unfortunately, none came, Lucia's condition had not changed, and Ranma could tell that unless something was done fast, she was going to die.

"Damn it! There must be something we can do!" Hiro yelled as Ronfar felt the familiar feelings of helplessness settle on his soul once more.

"Mauri…I've failed once again…" He whispered as he remembered her screams of pain. Ranma suddenly gripped his shoulders tightly.

"Listen to me Ronfar! I don't know who this Mauri is, but I can tell that you cared very much for her! Do you honestly think she would want you to just give up like this? You're our only hope! And unless you do something and fast, Lucia is going to die!" He then released him and stepped back.

"Will you let that happen Ronfar?" He asked with a solemn expression in his clear blue eyes. Ronfar stared at him wordlessly, before turning to stare at Lucia's weakly moaning form. A hazy memory formed in his mind, one of the Mauri he used to know, back when they were younger.

"Ronfar, I believe in you!" She had said as he attempted his first healing spell all those years ago. A hard look formed on his face, and he stood over Lucia's body once more. Raising his arms in the air, he summoned forth every ounce of power left in his body, and called up the faith he had abandoned for so long once more.

"I'll save Lucia, or die trying!" He whispered as light exploded forth and flowed into her, causing her to gasp loudly, before slumping and falling asleep. Ronfar collapsed and Ranma rushed over to support him. The former priest smiled faintly at seeing Lucia's steady breathing and peaceful face.

"Heh, sure hope I never have to do that again…" He muttered, while Ranma smiled.

"Thanks Ronfar, we owe you one." He said, to which Hiro and Ruby nodded enthusiastically.

"We sure do! I can't thank you enough Ronfar!" Hiro said as he picked up Lucia once again, and together, the three of them headed back to Casa de Ronfar for some much needed rest. Along the way, Ronfar smiled absently up at the Blue Star.

"Mauri, thank you…" He thought to himself. The Blue Star shined and he smiled wider.

Sleep came quickly for them after they reached Ronfar's house. It was a cool, peaceful night, and despite the fact that the White Knight Leo was staying in the same town they were, a relative sense of peace and tranquility was felt by Ranma and the others. Because Lucia was finally cured. She was still weakened of course, but her health was improving rapidly, and by the morning she would be able to walk around and function normally, though her powers would probably take a little longer as they had been severely drained to keep her body alive during its time of crisis. They had unanimously elected to place Lucia on the only bed, and had taken up various areas of the floor to sleep. But for one, sleep was difficult. Hiro could not sleep for some reason. He stood looking out the window, watching the stars with a serious expression on his normally fairly cheerful face. He didn't know why, but he had a feeling for lack of a better word, that something bad was going to happen. He didn't know when, he just knew that it would. He also had a feeling that things were going to become difficult between his friend and himself. He glanced over at Ranma's sleeping form and then at the room Lucia occupied and bowed his head sadly. A memory surfaced in his mind, of the previous night, when he had seen the two of them talking quietly on the ship. He had just been concerned about Lucia when he had awoken to the sight of her bed being empty, but seeing them talking together brought out something in him. Something that made his insides twist painfully.

"Why can't things stop getting so complicated?" He wondered sadly.

Lucia slowly opened her eyes as the golden sunlight flittered through the window and shined down on her face. It was annoying to say the least, and she turned away from it and tried to go back to sleep in her soft warm bed. Wait a minute, she didn't own a soft warm bed, in fact, up until a few days ago, she hadn't even known what a bed was. So then how…

"Where am I?" She wondered as she opened her eyes and slowly glanced around the room she was in. Her memory was spotty, though she recalled coming to Larpa and meeting the man named Ronfar. She also remembered being carried by Hiro and…

"That's right. I remember now, Ronfar cured me…" She thought. She exited the room she had been in, and found the sight that greeted her rather comical, though she did not laugh of course. Ronfar was slumped over and hugging Ranma, who was in turn being cuddled up to by Ruby, who let out an occasional purr in her sleep, while Hiro was…She blinked as she saw that Hiro was sitting up against the wall away from the others, wrapped in his orange cloak to ward off the cold. She then noted that it was early morning, and decided to go out and perhaps learn more about this strange world she had come to. With that thought in mind, she quietly opened the door, and slipped out into the glowing light of morning in the town of Larpa. She did not notice a pair of blue eyes watching her leave.

Ranma watched Lucia leave the house silently, and then turned to where Ronfar still had his arm around him, and was currently drooling on his shirt.

"Aw geez Ronfar…that's disgusting…" He muttered as he slowly extricated himself from Ronfar and Ruby without waking them up. He then slipped out the door as well, but not before glancing over at Hiro with a frown. For some reason, he could tell something was bothering his friend, and for the life of him he could not figure out what, but he shook the feeling off and after seeing Lucia heading in a particular direction, decided to follow her secretly and keep her out of trouble. 

As she walked, Lucia pondered over the matter of what to do now. Now that she was more or less cured, she decided that it would be for the best to part ways with Ranma, Hiro, and Ruby. They shouldn't be involved in something like this, and while she appreciated their help greatly so far, she knew that she needed to complete her task on her own. Lucia wasn't stupid, she knew that she more than likely would have died on that spire were it not for them, but the fact remained that every moment they spent with her they were in danger, and while she had not wanted to form close ties with any humans while on Lunar, she did not want to see them hurt in any way. As she was wandering about, observing various activities that people performed in the morning, her thoughts turned once more to Ranma, and the peculiar effect his smile had on her the other night. She had never felt that way before. Then there were Hiro's caring glances. They too brought out something in her she couldn't explain. Shaking her head, she decided it would be best to simply ignore these curious feelings and concentrate on her task. As she was walking past one house in particular, she stopped and looked at what a man was doing in front of it. He had a utensil of some sort in his hand, and a piece of paper set on a stand of some sort. Most curious of all, was the fact that when he dipped the utensil into different colored mixes, and then placed it upon the paper, a picture soon began to form. It had green ground, and mountains, and things sticking out of the ground. Some were large and had green on the top of them, while others were small, and were a myriad of different colors. It also had a bright sun and the Blue Star in the sky. The man realized he was being watched, and turned to her.

"Oh! Is there something I can help you with miss?" He asked politely. Hesitantly, Lucia pointed to his work.

"What is it you are doing?" She asked. He blinked in confusion for a moment, before realization came to his face.

"Oh! Well, I'm painting a landscape for my Wife." He replied. Lucia blinked in confusion, and stared at the…"landscape" for a few more moments. 

"What are those things in the ground?" She asked next, to which he became really confused.

"You mean the trees and flowers?" He asked. She blinked a few times and continued to stare at the painting.

"Trees…flowers… They are so beautiful…" She whispered, confusing the man further. Suddenly, his Wife walked out of the house, holding a curious bundle in her arms.

"Honey! What are you up to? I need you to watch the baby and…" She seemed to notice Lucia for the first time and smiled cheerfully at her.

"Hmm, hello there dear! You must be new in town! What's your name?" Lucia grew slightly confused when she, after answering the woman's question, was asked to look after the baby.

"It would be a big help! Thanks dear! I'll be back really soon!" She then handed the bundle to Lucia and headed down the street, leaving Lucia to blink once more in confusion, before realizing with a start that the bundle she held was in fact…alive!

"What on Lunar…" She muttered, before looking down and seeing that the bundle was actually a tiny human! She stared at the child curiously as he gleefully reached up and pulled on her hair.

"Ouch! That hurts! Please stop…" She said, before finally disengaging the baby's hand from her long blue hair. Sighing in relief, she left the man to his painting, which he seemed to be enthralled in, and entered the house curiously. The baby squirmed in her arms, and she realized that perhaps she should hold him as the woman had, instead of by the armpits as she was currently doing. Adjusting the baby so she could cradle him, she paced around the rooms, observing the various odd things placed in it. There were several more "paintings" on the walls, and a large bed in one corner, while near it was a smaller bed that looked to be where the tiny human went. She wondered where the last person would sleep, and why one of them got such a large bed, but put it in the back of her head, as she had found something rather interesting. It was a large mirror, and on front of it were several odd things. Various powders, creams, and other items that appeared to have no real use.

"Most peculiar…" Lucia said to herself as she continued to examine the oddities. Suddenly, the child in her arms let off a loud sound. It was distressing, and she desperately tried to find a way to stop it.

"Plug its mouth? No, that would suffocate it. Perhaps it is hungry?" She thought as she looked around for something to feed it. She spied an apple sitting on the counter, and grabbed it with one arm, and then tried to feed it to the wailing tiny human in her arms. It turned its face away from the fruit and she tried to fit it into its mouth. However it had clamped shut, and with a look bordering on frustration, she placed the apple back on the counter and was about to simply go out and ask the painter for help when the woman from before came rushing back into the house.

"Oh, is my poor dear crying?" She asked in a singsong voice that sounded very strange to Lucia. She then took the baby with an apologetic smile to Lucia and began to rock it back and forth in her arms while humming a tune of some sort. Lucia watched enthralled as she then started to actually sing the tune, and amazingly enough, the tiny human began to calm, until it finally fell asleep.

"Amazing…" Lucia thought as the woman then placed the child in the little bed from before, and turned to her.

"Thanks for watching him. I knew he can be a handful, but it looks like you did a great job!" She said while smiling at her.

"What was that magic you wove with your voice? Was it a sleep spell?" Lucia asked, anxious to understand more of this strange world and its inhabitants. The woman stared at her much as the man had before when she had asked what he was doing, before she smiled again and answered.

"What? You mean when I sang to the baby? That wasn't magic dear! It was just a little lullaby. I was singing to put him to sleep!" She replied, to which Lucia grew a look of awe on her face.

"Singing… I see." She said, still amazed by the whole concept. 

"This world is most fascinating…" She thought, before nodding at the woman once and heading out the door. As she walked down another street, she did not notice the figure crouched above her on the roof of the house, nor the smile he had as he watched her go.

"Lucia..." Ranma whispered, his smile growing slightly more pronounced as he watched her go.

**Author's Notes:** Okay, I actually wanted to make this longer, but I just felt that this was a good stopping point, and well, yeah. Anyway, this fic is still sort of an experiment for me; players of the game may notice that I'm starting to change a few things about the plot and certain scenes. This is mostly just so that I'm not simply writing a novelization of the game, and also just because I have some shall we say tender scenes between Ranma and Lucia, does not mean that she is necessarily who he is going to wind up with. Jean hasn't been introduced yet people! But when she does, you can bet that Lucia will have some romantic competition if nothing else. Of course, poor Lucia probably won't even know what that is. Sigh, poor little confused Lucia. Aw, but that's part of why I like her. Anyway, next chapter may take w while, as I need to focus on other works for a while, but it will come out fairly soon, I hope. Well, please review this and maybe send me some feedback via e-mail. Suggestions and whatnot are appreciated, and even flames are fine if they are valid. Ok then, c'ya next time.

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